KANSAS CITY – Fifteen more defendants including eleven from Kansas have been indicted by a federal grand jury for their roles in a drug-trafficking conspiracy after law enforcement officers seized 100 pounds of methamphetamine and a kilogram of fentanyl pills hidden in a vehicle being transported from San Bernadino, California to Springfield, Missouri, according to the United State's Attorney.

Stevie Delane Logan, Jr., 34, Daron Cortez Kelly, 36, Damion Williams, 34, Necole Jennings, 47, Osric Rashaad Edwards, 25, Shawn Weston Morris, 54, and Rikkita Charnay Tolbert, 37, all of Parsons, Kansas; William Edward McKinzie, 52, Juston Dean Crane, 39, and Gary Jay Watkins, Jr., 54, all of Joplin, Missouri; James Richard Sharp, 55, of Seneca, Missouri; Jon Kurtis Smith, 39, of El Dorado, Kansas; Christuffer Allen Roeder, 28, of Independence, Kansas; William Earl Troester, Jr., 45, of Wichita, Kansas and Kylei Paige Sullivan, 27, of St. Paul, Kansas, were charged in an 18-count second superseding indictment returned under seal by a federal grand jury in Springfield, Missouri.. That indictment was unsealed and made public&nbsp; following the arrests of all remaining defendants.

The initial indictment in this case charged Dontrell Anthony Powell, 34, and his brother, Dreshawn Powell, 27, both of Springfield, and Willie Murry, Jr., 42, and Mark Monta Logan, 33, both of Parsons, on Feb. 6, 2024. They remain as defendants in this second superseding indictment.

The federal indictment alleges that 17 of the defendants, with the exceptions of Tolbert and Sullivan, participated in a conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and fentanyl in Greene, Jasper, and Newton Counties, and elsewhere, from Jan. 1, 2022, to April 20, 2024.

The federal indictment also alleges that 14 of the defendants, with the exceptions of McKinzie, Crane, Morris, Sharp, and Watkins, participated in a money-laundering conspiracy.

Several defendants also are charged in various counts related to drug trafficking and illegally possessing firearms.

According to court documents, investigation into the drug-trafficking organization began when a Trooper with the Oklahoma Highway Patrol searched a vehicle on a car hauler at a truck stop in Oklahoma City, Okla., on Jan. 17, 2024. The Trooper found approximately 100 pounds of methamphetamine and two pounds of fentanyl pills hidden in a subwoofer speaker box in the cargo area of the car, a Dodge Magnum. The driver of the car hauler, who was not involved in the drug shipment, agreed to deliver the Dodge Magnum to its destination at a parking lot in Springfield.

Agents with the Drug Enforcement Administration removed the fentanyl pills from the Dodge Magnum and replaced most of the methamphetamine with sham methamphetamine before conducting a controlled delivery of the vehicle the next morning. On January 18, 2024, Dontrell Powell and Dreshawn Powell arrived at the parking lot together in a Mercedes while Murry and Mark Logan arrived together in a BMW. Dontrell Powell met with the driver of the car hauler to sign for the Dodge Magnum and attempted to start the vehicle, but the battery was dead. Murray and Mark Logan helped jump start the Dodge Magnum, and Dontrell Powell drove it out of the parking lot as the other three men followed in their vehicles. Agents followed the three vehicles to Dontrell Powell’s residence, where they were arrested.

Agents also searched Dontrell Powell’s residence and found, in addition to the controlled delivery from the Dodge Magnum, an AM-15 pistol, .223 ammunition, several high-capacity magazines with ammunition, more than $100,000 in cash, and drug paraphernalia. Agents also found a loaded Glock pistol in one of the vehicles, numerous cell phones, four more large subwoofer boxes (two of which contained shards of crystal methamphetamine), and drug paraphernalia.

Following the controlled delivery of the Dodge Magnum, agents obtained a court order authorizing the interception of wire and electronic communications over three cellular phones being utilized by Mark Logan’s brother, Stevie Logan, in connection with his distribution of methamphetamine.

The investigation culminated on April 20, 2024, when Stevie Logan received a call from McKinzie requesting methamphetamine. Stevie Logan directed Kelly and Williams to retrieve methamphetamine from Jennings’ residence in Parsons, Kan. Kelly and Williams picked Stevie Logan up from a gas station in Pittsburg, Kan., and the three men traveled to a hotel in Joplin, Mo. As McKinzie approached the vehicle, all four men were arrested. Agents searched the vehicle and located approximately 10 pounds of methamphetamine inside of a large tub.

Agents also searched McKinzie’s hotel room and located an additional five ounces of methamphetamine and three firearms.

In addition to the two conspiracies, Dontrell Powell is charged with one count of money laundering, one count of possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug-trafficking crime, and two counts of being a felon in possession of a firearm. Dontrell Powell allegedly possessed an Anderson Manufacturing AM-15 multi-caliber semi-automatic pistol and a Glock .40-caliber semi-automatic pistol on January 18, 2024. Dontrell Powell allegedly possessed another Glock .40-caliber semi-automatic pistol on June 12, 2022. Dontrell Powell is subject to enhanced penalties resulting from a prior felony conviction for possession of dangerous drugs for sale.

Dontrell Powell, Murry, Dreshawn Powell, and Mark Logan are charged together in one count of attempting to possess methamphetamine and fentanyl with the intent to distribute.

Murry and Mark Logan also are charged together in one count of traveling across state lines from Kansas to Missouri with the intent to carry on or facilitate an unlawful activity (possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine and fentanyl).

Stevie Logan, Kelly, Williams, and Jennings are charged together in one count of possessing methamphetamine with the intent to distribute, and McKinzie is charged with one count of attempting to possess methamphetamine with the intent to distribute.

Stevie Logan, Kelly, and Williams are charged together in one count of traveling across state lines from Kansas to Missouri with the intent to carry on or facilitate an unlawful activity (possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine).

McKinzie also is charged with one count of possessing methamphetamine with the intent to distribute, one count of possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug-trafficking crime, and one count of being a felon in possession of firearms. McKinzie allegedly possessed an Arcadia Machine &amp; Tool .45-caliber pistol, a Ruger 9mm pistol, and a Sundance .25-caliber pistol on April 20, 2024.

Sharp also is charged with two counts of possessing methamphetamine with the intent to distribute and one count of possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug-trafficking crime. Sharp allegedly possessed a Sig Sauer .45-caliber pistol on May 3, 2021.

Crane also is charged with one count of possessing fentanyl with the intent to distribute.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/10/1728591106721.png" alt="William Troester is being held in Butler County" />
 <figcaption>William Troester is being held in Butler County</figcaption>
 </figure>KANSAS CITY – Fifteen more defendants including eleven from Kansas have been indicted by a federal grand jury for their roles in a drug-trafficking conspiracy after law enforcement officers seized 100 pounds of methamphetamine and a kilogram of fentanyl pills hidden in a vehicle being transported from San Bernadino, California to Springfield, Missouri, according to the United State's Attorney.Stevie Delane Logan, Jr., 34, Daron Cortez Kelly, 36, Damion Williams, 34, Necole Jennings, 47, Osric Rashaad Edwards, 25, Shawn Weston Morris, 54, and Rikkita Charnay Tolbert, 37, all of Parsons, Kansas; William Edward McKinzie, 52, Juston Dean Crane, 39, and Gary Jay Watkins, Jr., 54, all of Joplin, Missouri; James Richard Sharp, 55, of Seneca, Missouri; Jon Kurtis Smith, 39, of El Dorado, Kansas; Christuffer Allen Roeder, 28, of Independence, Kansas; William Earl Troester, Jr., 45, of Wichita, Kansas and Kylei Paige Sullivan, 27, of St. Paul, Kansas, were charged in an 18-count second superseding indictment returned under seal by a federal grand jury in Springfield, Missouri.. That indictment was unsealed and made public&nbsp; following the arrests of all remaining defendants.The initial indictment in this case charged Dontrell Anthony Powell, 34, and his brother, Dreshawn Powell, 27, both of Springfield, and Willie Murry, Jr., 42, and Mark Monta Logan, 33, both of Parsons, on Feb. 6, 2024. They remain as defendants in this second superseding indictment.The federal indictment alleges that 17 of the defendants, with the exceptions of Tolbert and Sullivan, participated in a conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and fentanyl in Greene, Jasper, and Newton Counties, and elsewhere, from Jan. 1, 2022, to April 20, 2024.The federal indictment also alleges that 14 of the defendants, with the exceptions of McKinzie, Crane, Morris, Sharp, and Watkins, participated in a money-laundering conspiracy.Several defendants also are charged in various counts related to drug trafficking and illegally possessing firearms.According to court documents, investigation into the drug-trafficking organization began when a Trooper with the Oklahoma Highway Patrol searched a vehicle on a car hauler at a truck stop in Oklahoma City, Okla., on Jan. 17, 2024. The Trooper found approximately 100 pounds of methamphetamine and two pounds of fentanyl pills hidden in a subwoofer speaker box in the cargo area of the car, a Dodge Magnum. The driver of the car hauler, who was not involved in the drug shipment, agreed to deliver the Dodge Magnum to its destination at a parking lot in Springfield.Agents with the Drug Enforcement Administration removed the fentanyl pills from the Dodge Magnum and replaced most of the methamphetamine with sham methamphetamine before conducting a controlled delivery of the vehicle the next morning. On January 18, 2024, Dontrell Powell and Dreshawn Powell arrived at the parking lot together in a Mercedes while Murry and Mark Logan arrived together in a BMW. Dontrell Powell met with the driver of the car hauler to sign for the Dodge Magnum and attempted to start the vehicle, but the battery was dead. Murray and Mark Logan helped jump start the Dodge Magnum, and Dontrell Powell drove it out of the parking lot as the other three men followed in their vehicles. Agents followed the three vehicles to Dontrell Powell’s residence, where they were arrested.Agents also searched Dontrell Powell’s residence and found, in addition to the controlled delivery from the Dodge Magnum, an AM-15 pistol, .223 ammunition, several high-capacity magazines with ammunition, more than $100,000 in cash, and drug paraphernalia. Agents also found a loaded Glock pistol in one of the vehicles, numerous cell phones, four more large subwoofer boxes (two of which contained shards of crystal methamphetamine), and drug paraphernalia.Following the controlled delivery of the Dodge Magnum, agents obtained a court order authorizing the interception of wire and electronic communications over three cellular phones being utilized by Mark Logan’s brother, Stevie Logan, in connection with his distribution of methamphetamine.The investigation culminated on April 20, 2024, when Stevie Logan received a call from McKinzie requesting methamphetamine. Stevie Logan directed Kelly and Williams to retrieve methamphetamine from Jennings’ residence in Parsons, Kan. Kelly and Williams picked Stevie Logan up from a gas station in Pittsburg, Kan., and the three men traveled to a hotel in Joplin, Mo. As McKinzie approached the vehicle, all four men were arrested. Agents searched the vehicle and located approximately 10 pounds of methamphetamine inside of a large tub.Agents also searched McKinzie’s hotel room and located an additional five ounces of methamphetamine and three firearms.In addition to the two conspiracies, Dontrell Powell is charged with one count of money laundering, one count of possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug-trafficking crime, and two counts of being a felon in possession of a firearm. Dontrell Powell allegedly possessed an Anderson Manufacturing AM-15 multi-caliber semi-automatic pistol and a Glock .40-caliber semi-automatic pistol on January 18, 2024. Dontrell Powell allegedly possessed another Glock .40-caliber semi-automatic pistol on June 12, 2022. Dontrell Powell is subject to enhanced penalties resulting from a prior felony conviction for possession of dangerous drugs for sale.Dontrell Powell, Murry, Dreshawn Powell, and Mark Logan are charged together in one count of attempting to possess methamphetamine and fentanyl with the intent to distribute.Murry and Mark Logan also are charged together in one count of traveling across state lines from Kansas to Missouri with the intent to carry on or facilitate an unlawful activity (possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine and fentanyl).Stevie Logan, Kelly, Williams, and Jennings are charged together in one count of possessing methamphetamine with the intent to distribute, and McKinzie is charged with one count of attempting to possess methamphetamine with the intent to distribute.Stevie Logan, Kelly, and Williams are charged together in one count of traveling across state lines from Kansas to Missouri with the intent to carry on or facilitate an unlawful activity (possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine).McKinzie also is charged with one count of possessing methamphetamine with the intent to distribute, one count of possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug-trafficking crime, and one count of being a felon in possession of firearms. McKinzie allegedly possessed an Arcadia Machine &amp; Tool .45-caliber pistol, a Ruger 9mm pistol, and a Sundance .25-caliber pistol on April 20, 2024.Sharp also is charged with two counts of possessing methamphetamine with the intent to distribute and one count of possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug-trafficking crime. Sharp allegedly possessed a Sig Sauer .45-caliber pistol on May 3, 2021.Crane also is charged with one count of possessing fentanyl with the intent to distribute.

13 from Kansas among suspects charged in fentanyl sale conspiracy

KANSAS CITY —One person died in an accident just after 12:30a.m.&nbsp; Tuesday in Kansas City.

An Audi A5 was eastbound on Interstate 70 at a very high rate of speed, according to KCPD Office Jake Becchina. In the area of Interstate 70 and Prospect, the driver failed to negotiate the curvature of the highway. The vehicle traveled off the roadway to the right and rolled several times, ejecting the unrestrained driver and sole occupant of the from the vehicle. 

EMS transported the driver to a local hospital where they were pronounced deceased. 

This is fatality #75 compared to #78 at this time last year, according to Becchina. The accident remains under investigation.

KANSAS CITY —One person died in an accident just after 12:30a.m.&nbsp; Tuesday in Kansas City.An Audi A5 was eastbound on Interstate 70 at a very high rate of speed, according to KCPD Office Jake Becchina. In the area of Interstate 70 and Prospect, the driver failed to negotiate the curvature of the highway. The vehicle traveled off the roadway to the right and rolled several times, ejecting the unrestrained driver and sole occupant of the from the vehicle. EMS transported the driver to a local hospital where they were pronounced deceased. This is fatality #75 compared to #78 at this time last year, according to Becchina. The accident remains under investigation.

KCPD: Driver dies in violent rollover accident on I-70

BY:&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/author/rudi-keller/">RUDI KELLER</a> <a href="https://missouriindependent.com/briefs/missouri-senate-committee-advances-bill-to-ban-texting-while-driving/">Missouri Independent</a>

Chariton County cannot block construction of the&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/2023/10/13/grain-belt-express-transmission-line-wins-final-approval-in-missouri/">Grain Belt Express electric transmission line</a>&nbsp;by refusing permission to cross county roads, the Missouri Western District Court of Appeals ruled Tuesday.

The county can establish rules for how the transmission line crosses its roads, the court ruled as it modified a trial court decision that said the county could make no regulations at all.

“The decision as to whether Grain Belt’s overhead transmission lines for the project would be constructed across Chariton County’s public roads was already made by the (Missouri Public Service Commission) when it issued its Report and Order on Remand granting the (certificate of convenience and necessity) and approving the final proposed route of the project,” Judge Lisa White Hardwick wrote in the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.courts.mo.gov/file.jsp?id=213613" target="_blank">unanimous decision</a>&nbsp;of the three-judge panel.

Grain Belt will be constructed by Chicago-based Invenergy and be a 5,000 megawatt line to move wind-derived power from western Kansas to the Indiana border. Half the power it carries will be delivered to Missouri utilities.

At first welcomed by many of the counties it will cross in north Missouri, the line has become controversial with complaints about aesthetics, whether high-voltage lines cause health issues and the power of the Public Service Commission to grant eminent domain power to obtain land for construction.

Republican legislators and agricultural groups tried repeatedly to strip Grain Belt’s right of eminent domain, which would have killed the project. But in 2022, lawmakers&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/2022/06/08/missouri-governor-to-sign-compromise-legislation-after-efforts-to-stymie-grain-belt-express/">passed compromise legislation</a>&nbsp;requiring, in the event of future large transmission lines, greater compensation for landowners and setting a seven-year time limit for companies to build transmission lines after obtaining their easements.&nbsp;

Grain Belt’s disagreements with Chariton County began in 2014, Hardwick wrote in the decision, two years after it had initially received consent from the Chariton County Commission to cross its county-owned roads. Chariton County withdrew its consent and made it contingent upon the PSC approving the project.

When it received initial approval from the PSC, Grain Belt’s owners tried to negotiate with Chariton County. When it refused again to give its consent, the lawsuit followed.

Associate Circuit Judge Daren Adkins, assigned to the case from Daviess County, ruled that a state law&nbsp;<a href="https://revisor.mo.gov/main/OneSection.aspx?section=49.650&amp;bid=1714&amp;hl=" target="_blank">barring counties</a>&nbsp;from adopting ordinances “governing” utilities within their boundaries meant that&nbsp;<a href="https://revisor.mo.gov/main/OneSection.aspx?section=229.100&amp;bid=12358&amp;hl=" target="_blank">an older law</a>, requiring utilities to obtain consent from utilities to go “through, on, under or across” its roads could not be enforced.

The decision Tuesday modified that ruling. The law prohibiting an ordinance governing a utility is designed to protect against local rules that are in conflict with state rules, the court said.

But it doesn’t mean the law requiring consent to cross a road doesn’t have any effect, Hardwick wrote. The county can set standards but it cannot withhold its consent, she wrote.

“A fair interpretation is that (law) requires a county commission’s agreement regarding how a utility’s infrastructure will be constructed across the county’s public roads,” she wrote “not whether such utility’s infrastructure will be constructed across the county’s public roads in the first place.”

Overall utility policy is set at the state level, not the county level, she wrote.

“Doing so usurps the authority granted the MPSC in Chapter 386,” she wrote, “and exercises a power granted to the county in a manner contrary to the public policy of this state.”

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/8/1598444309811.png" alt="The project, will stretch about 800 miles from Kansas to Indiana, on a route crossing Missouri and Illinois." />
 <figcaption>The project, will stretch about 800 miles from Kansas to Indiana, on a route crossing Missouri and Illinois.</figcaption>
 </figure>BY:&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/author/rudi-keller/">RUDI KELLER</a> <a href="https://missouriindependent.com/briefs/missouri-senate-committee-advances-bill-to-ban-texting-while-driving/">Missouri Independent</a>Chariton County cannot block construction of the&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/2023/10/13/grain-belt-express-transmission-line-wins-final-approval-in-missouri/">Grain Belt Express electric transmission line</a>&nbsp;by refusing permission to cross county roads, the Missouri Western District Court of Appeals ruled Tuesday.The county can establish rules for how the transmission line crosses its roads, the court ruled as it modified a trial court decision that said the county could make no regulations at all.“The decision as to whether Grain Belt’s overhead transmission lines for the project would be constructed across Chariton County’s public roads was already made by the (Missouri Public Service Commission) when it issued its Report and Order on Remand granting the (certificate of convenience and necessity) and approving the final proposed route of the project,” Judge Lisa White Hardwick wrote in the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.courts.mo.gov/file.jsp?id=213613" target="_blank">unanimous decision</a>&nbsp;of the three-judge panel.Grain Belt will be constructed by Chicago-based Invenergy and be a 5,000 megawatt line to move wind-derived power from western Kansas to the Indiana border. Half the power it carries will be delivered to Missouri utilities.At first welcomed by many of the counties it will cross in north Missouri, the line has become controversial with complaints about aesthetics, whether high-voltage lines cause health issues and the power of the Public Service Commission to grant eminent domain power to obtain land for construction.Republican legislators and agricultural groups tried repeatedly to strip Grain Belt’s right of eminent domain, which would have killed the project. But in 2022, lawmakers&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/2022/06/08/missouri-governor-to-sign-compromise-legislation-after-efforts-to-stymie-grain-belt-express/">passed compromise legislation</a>&nbsp;requiring, in the event of future large transmission lines, greater compensation for landowners and setting a seven-year time limit for companies to build transmission lines after obtaining their easements.&nbsp;Grain Belt’s disagreements with Chariton County began in 2014, Hardwick wrote in the decision, two years after it had initially received consent from the Chariton County Commission to cross its county-owned roads. Chariton County withdrew its consent and made it contingent upon the PSC approving the project.When it received initial approval from the PSC, Grain Belt’s owners tried to negotiate with Chariton County. When it refused again to give its consent, the lawsuit followed.Associate Circuit Judge Daren Adkins, assigned to the case from Daviess County, ruled that a state law&nbsp;<a href="https://revisor.mo.gov/main/OneSection.aspx?section=49.650&amp;bid=1714&amp;hl=" target="_blank">barring counties</a>&nbsp;from adopting ordinances “governing” utilities within their boundaries meant that&nbsp;<a href="https://revisor.mo.gov/main/OneSection.aspx?section=229.100&amp;bid=12358&amp;hl=" target="_blank">an older law</a>, requiring utilities to obtain consent from utilities to go “through, on, under or across” its roads could not be enforced.The decision Tuesday modified that ruling. The law prohibiting an ordinance governing a utility is designed to protect against local rules that are in conflict with state rules, the court said.But it doesn’t mean the law requiring consent to cross a road doesn’t have any effect, Hardwick wrote. The county can set standards but it cannot withhold its consent, she wrote.“A fair interpretation is that (law) requires a county commission’s agreement regarding how a utility’s infrastructure will be constructed across the county’s public roads,” she wrote “not whether such utility’s infrastructure will be constructed across the county’s public roads in the first place.”Overall utility policy is set at the state level, not the county level, she wrote.“Doing so usurps the authority granted the MPSC in Chapter 386,” she wrote, “and exercises a power granted to the county in a manner contrary to the public policy of this state.”

Grain Belt Express clears another legal hurdle with Missouri appeals court ruling

Kansas City, Mo.&nbsp; –&nbsp;Kansas City civic leader and philanthropist Donald J. Hall passed away October 13, 2024, at home surrounded by his loving family, the company reported on their corporate web site Tuesday. Hall was 96.

Born July 9, 1928 in Kansas City, Missouri, Don was the son of Hallmark founder J.C. Hall and his wife, Elizabeth. He grew up in and around the family business, officially joining Hallmark at age 17 as an assistant salesman and working a territory while majoring in economics at Dartmouth College.

After graduation, Don left the company to serve his country in the U.S. Army, spending much of his military career as an officer at a base in Gifu, Japan.

Don returned to Hallmark in 1953 and assumed leadership positions, becoming administrative vice president in 1958 and president and chief executive officer in 1966. “My father lived our beliefs and values his whole lifetime, and his ability to translate them in a way that others could understand will remain part of his lasting legacy,” Don’s son, Donald Hall, Jr. said. “He truly believed that Hallmark’s purpose was to enrich people’s lives, and you continue to see that reflected in our brand and our people today.”

In 1983, Don moved from the position of president to chairman, and in 2016, he became chairman emeritus, a role he held until his death.

Don also chaired the Hall Family Foundation, the private philanthropic organization formed from the estates of J.C. and Elizabeth Hall to enhance the quality of human life in the Kansas City area. The foundation has served as a catalyst and community partner for Kansas City-area charities since its start in 1943.

“Don led Hallmark through its greatest period of growth, and our brands – Hallmark, Crayola and Hallmark Media – are beloved because of his leadership,” said Mike Perry, president and CEO of Hallmark. “He led the introduction of new product lines and development of Hallmark’s network of independent retailers. Don oversaw the development of Crown Center in Kansas City and the acquisition of Crayola in 1984. He took great pride in the Hallmark Hall of Fame, maintaining his father’s commitment to high-quality family entertainment and continued to review scripts and production details even as he stepped back from day-to-day roles with the company.”

Don loved his hometown, Kansas City. He believed in its people, its potential and its future, a commitment he shared with his late wife, Adele. Backing that belief with unyielding community support, Don’s influence was felt – often in behind-the-scenes roles where he was most comfortable – in virtually every major civic project from the 1960s through the early 2000s.

Starting in the late 1960s, the vision of Don and his father J.C. Hall led to the development of the Crown Center complex, a “city-within-a-city” on the land surrounding Hallmark’s headquarters in Kansas City. As an early example of urban revitalization and one of the nation’s first mixed-use redevelopments, this project turned a blighted 85-acre section of the city into a thriving retail, residential, office and entertainment complex that today welcomes more than 5 million visitors each year.

He was a founding member of the Kansas City Community Foundation, and with other civic leaders was a guiding force behind the early 1970s “Prime Time” news bureau effort that gave Kansas City a burst of national attention and was credited with attracting the 1976 Republican National Convention to Kansas City. He also helped establish the Kansas City Area Economic Development Council to attract new businesses to the region.

As chairman of the Civic Council, he brought civic interests together to establish the Kansas City Neighborhood Alliance and the Kansas City Minority Supplier Development Council&nbsp;(later the Mid-America Minority Business Development Council).

“He was deeply committed to the Kansas City community, understanding the importance of giving back and fostering inclusive prosperity,” Don’s son, David Hall, said. “He took special pride in his work with the Minority Supplier Development Council. He firmly believed it was essential for the business community to contribute toward a better future for everyone.”

Don was a consistent champion of the United Way of Greater Kansas City. In later years, he supported the region’s life sciences initiatives, worked to achieve the University of Kansas Cancer Center’s successful designation as a National Cancer Institute, and led efforts to establish the Children’s Research Institute at Children’s Mercy Hospital. Following the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, he recognized the importance of creating the Kansas City Regional COVID-19 Response and Recovery Fund, which provided critical funding for nonprofits dealing with the human tragedy caused by the pandemic.

He was a decades-long supporter of Kansas City’s Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, serving on the Board of Trustees for 31 years. He recognized the importance of photography as an art form, and in the 1960s he began building the Hallmark Photographic Collection. It became a world-class collection that was eventually given to the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art in 2005 and supported since then by substantial gifts from the Hall Family Foundation. The museum recognized Don’s years of service and support in 2013 when it unveiled the modern sculpture collection as the Donald J. Hall Sculpture Park.

Over the years, Don was a gracious recipient of awards and board positions. President George H.W. Bush appointed Don to serve as chairman of the President’s Committee on the Arts and Humanities. He also served on the board of the National Minority Supplier Development Council. President Ronald Reagan awarded Don the National Medal of Arts in 1985. In 1982, Don received the Governor’s Award from the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences for Hallmark’s contributions through the Hallmark Hall of Fame. He was awarded an honorary Doctor of Laws from alma mater Dartmouth College in 2000. In 2005, Don served on the boards of the Kansas City Symphony, the Missouri Repertory Theater&nbsp;(later the Kansas City Repertory Theatre), the Lyric Opera of Kansas City and the Full Employment Council. He was a past chairman of the board of Midwest Research Institute&nbsp;(now MRIGlobal).&nbsp;

Don received the Kansas Citian of the Year Award in 1972 from the Chamber of Commerce of Greater Kansas City and the Philanthropist of the Year award in 1985 from the Greater Kansas City Council on Philanthropy. In 1993, Don was honored with a Midwest Research Institute Trustee Citation. His keen interest in architecture, so evident in Kansas City’s Crown Center development, was acknowledged with an award of excellence from the Kansas City Architectural Foundation in 1985 and an honorary membership in the American Institute of Architects.

Don was married to Adele until her death in 2013. He was the father of three children: Don, Jr.; David; and Margaret. Don had nine grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren. He was also a decades-long member of St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church.

More information about Don’s life will be published shortly on a tribute website created in his loving memory.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/10/1729024973532.png" alt="Donald Hall courtesy photo" />
 <figcaption>Donald Hall courtesy photo</figcaption>
 </figure>Kansas City, Mo.&nbsp; –&nbsp;Kansas City civic leader and philanthropist Donald J. Hall passed away October 13, 2024, at home surrounded by his loving family, the company reported on their corporate web site Tuesday. Hall was 96.Born July 9, 1928 in Kansas City, Missouri, Don was the son of Hallmark founder J.C. Hall and his wife, Elizabeth. He grew up in and around the family business, officially joining Hallmark at age 17 as an assistant salesman and working a territory while majoring in economics at Dartmouth College.After graduation, Don left the company to serve his country in the U.S. Army, spending much of his military career as an officer at a base in Gifu, Japan.Don returned to Hallmark in 1953 and assumed leadership positions, becoming administrative vice president in 1958 and president and chief executive officer in 1966. “My father lived our beliefs and values his whole lifetime, and his ability to translate them in a way that others could understand will remain part of his lasting legacy,” Don’s son, Donald Hall, Jr. said. “He truly believed that Hallmark’s purpose was to enrich people’s lives, and you continue to see that reflected in our brand and our people today.”In 1983, Don moved from the position of president to chairman, and in 2016, he became chairman emeritus, a role he held until his death.Don also chaired the Hall Family Foundation, the private philanthropic organization formed from the estates of J.C. and Elizabeth Hall to enhance the quality of human life in the Kansas City area. The foundation has served as a catalyst and community partner for Kansas City-area charities since its start in 1943.“Don led Hallmark through its greatest period of growth, and our brands – Hallmark, Crayola and Hallmark Media – are beloved because of his leadership,” said Mike Perry, president and CEO of Hallmark. “He led the introduction of new product lines and development of Hallmark’s network of independent retailers. Don oversaw the development of Crown Center in Kansas City and the acquisition of Crayola in 1984. He took great pride in the Hallmark Hall of Fame, maintaining his father’s commitment to high-quality family entertainment and continued to review scripts and production details even as he stepped back from day-to-day roles with the company.”Don loved his hometown, Kansas City. He believed in its people, its potential and its future, a commitment he shared with his late wife, Adele. Backing that belief with unyielding community support, Don’s influence was felt – often in behind-the-scenes roles where he was most comfortable – in virtually every major civic project from the 1960s through the early 2000s.Starting in the late 1960s, the vision of Don and his father J.C. Hall led to the development of the Crown Center complex, a “city-within-a-city” on the land surrounding Hallmark’s headquarters in Kansas City. As an early example of urban revitalization and one of the nation’s first mixed-use redevelopments, this project turned a blighted 85-acre section of the city into a thriving retail, residential, office and entertainment complex that today welcomes more than 5 million visitors each year.He was a founding member of the Kansas City Community Foundation, and with other civic leaders was a guiding force behind the early 1970s “Prime Time” news bureau effort that gave Kansas City a burst of national attention and was credited with attracting the 1976 Republican National Convention to Kansas City. He also helped establish the Kansas City Area Economic Development Council to attract new businesses to the region.As chairman of the Civic Council, he brought civic interests together to establish the Kansas City Neighborhood Alliance and the Kansas City Minority Supplier Development Council&nbsp;(later the Mid-America Minority Business Development Council).“He was deeply committed to the Kansas City community, understanding the importance of giving back and fostering inclusive prosperity,” Don’s son, David Hall, said. “He took special pride in his work with the Minority Supplier Development Council. He firmly believed it was essential for the business community to contribute toward a better future for everyone.”Don was a consistent champion of the United Way of Greater Kansas City. In later years, he supported the region’s life sciences initiatives, worked to achieve the University of Kansas Cancer Center’s successful designation as a National Cancer Institute, and led efforts to establish the Children’s Research Institute at Children’s Mercy Hospital. Following the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, he recognized the importance of creating the Kansas City Regional COVID-19 Response and Recovery Fund, which provided critical funding for nonprofits dealing with the human tragedy caused by the pandemic.He was a decades-long supporter of Kansas City’s Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, serving on the Board of Trustees for 31 years. He recognized the importance of photography as an art form, and in the 1960s he began building the Hallmark Photographic Collection. It became a world-class collection that was eventually given to the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art in 2005 and supported since then by substantial gifts from the Hall Family Foundation. The museum recognized Don’s years of service and support in 2013 when it unveiled the modern sculpture collection as the Donald J. Hall Sculpture Park.Over the years, Don was a gracious recipient of awards and board positions. President George H.W. Bush appointed Don to serve as chairman of the President’s Committee on the Arts and Humanities. He also served on the board of the National Minority Supplier Development Council. President Ronald Reagan awarded Don the National Medal of Arts in 1985. In 1982, Don received the Governor’s Award from the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences for Hallmark’s contributions through the Hallmark Hall of Fame. He was awarded an honorary Doctor of Laws from alma mater Dartmouth College in 2000. In 2005, Don served on the boards of the Kansas City Symphony, the Missouri Repertory Theater&nbsp;(later the Kansas City Repertory Theatre), the Lyric Opera of Kansas City and the Full Employment Council. He was a past chairman of the board of Midwest Research Institute&nbsp;(now MRIGlobal).&nbsp;Don received the Kansas Citian of the Year Award in 1972 from the Chamber of Commerce of Greater Kansas City and the Philanthropist of the Year award in 1985 from the Greater Kansas City Council on Philanthropy. In 1993, Don was honored with a Midwest Research Institute Trustee Citation. His keen interest in architecture, so evident in Kansas City’s Crown Center development, was acknowledged with an award of excellence from the Kansas City Architectural Foundation in 1985 and an honorary membership in the American Institute of Architects.Don was married to Adele until her death in 2013. He was the father of three children: Don, Jr.; David; and Margaret. Don had nine grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren. He was also a decades-long member of St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church.More information about Don’s life will be published shortly on a tribute website created in his loving memory.

Leader of world-renowned Kansas City company dies at 96

Neighborhood leaders contend the facility is not the right fit for the community’s doorstep and argue the area is saturated enough with social service providers

BY:&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/author/mikesherry/">MIKE SHERRY</a>

Residents in Kansas City’s historic Northeast neighborhood say plans for a state psychiatric hospital on the site of a former housing project and city park clash with plans for revitalizing their community.

They’re losing patience with efforts to base ever more social services near their homes that they fear could make their streets a dumping ground for the city’s problems.

“This will define one of our most important intersections, and I don’t know if defining it this way is healthy,” said Kate Barsotti, an artist and former president of the Columbus Park Community Council. “Is that shallow? Maybe. Could be. But I do understand people feeling sandbagged and disrespected and betrayed.”

Meanwhile, the city, the state and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.universityhealthkc.org/" target="_blank">University Health</a>&nbsp;(formerly Truman Medical Center) see the psychiatric facility as an economic boon and a key part of what the region needs to deal with growing mental health demands.

The Missouri Department of Mental Health estimates the hospital could open in late 2027 or early 2028 — if everything moves smoothly. And the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development could be a significant stumbling block to the plan.

The roughly 20-acre parcel eyed for the psychiatric hospital used to be Belvidere Park and Chouteau Courts, a public housing complex. The tract is near the intersection of The Paseo and Independence Avenue.

In June 2020, the Housing Authority of Kansas City, Missouri, finished demolishing the crumbling Chouteau Courts. The demolition came as part of the sweeping Paseo Gateway community revitalization project, funded through a $30 million grant from HUD.

The new psychiatric hospital would be a one-level, 300,000-square-foot building on a triangular parcel between The Paseo to the east and Interstate 35 to the west. The new hospital would have 200 beds and generally serve the western half of the state.

In tandem with the state’s Center for Behavioral Medicine, which is located on Hospital Hill, the new psychiatric hospital would take on a growing statewide backlog of more than 350 criminal defendants languishing in local jails as they await mental health treatment.

Judges have ordered those inmates into the care of the department to see if it can restore their competency to stand trial, but DMH has nowhere to treat those people (with limited exceptions). DMH Director Valerie Huhn said the waiting list could reach 500 people by the end of this year.

The department said about one-fifth of the pending cases fall in the Kansas City region. It already operates 65 competency-restoration beds (intended to get defendants mentally well enough to stand trial) at the Center for Behavioral Medicine. The new hospital would boost that total to 100 beds while those at the existing facility would be repurposed.

University Health would use the other beds for short-term psychiatric treatment generally lasting two weeks or less. Patients would get psychiatric care medication management and referrals to outpatient programs. The health system would reserve 25 of its beds for referrals from the Kansas City Municipal Court or other providers in the city.

University Health would also operate a psychiatric emergency department at the hospital, something law enforcement turns to avoid taking them to a conventional emergency room or jail.

University Health closed its psychiatric emergency department in 2015, but Chief Executive Officer Charlie Shields said it faces fewer regulatory hurdles in operating as part of a psychiatric hospital.

Critically, it lightens the load for the Center for Behavioral Medicine so it can concentrate on long-term care that can average stays of nine years for treating conditions like schizophrenia or bipolar disorder.

A psychiatric emergency room “allows us to catch people before they get to a point of committing a crime, especially in that Jackson County area,” Huhn said, “and then give them … resources so that they don’t commit crimes and have to go through this whole process.”

Huhn and others tout the safety of the proposed new hospital. It will have a perimeter fence. Patient units will be locked. In that way, it will operate like similar state facilities near residential areas in other parts of the state.

Supporters also say the hospital will offer additional training to area medical programs. It will also open more inpatient beds and fix some of the problems created decades ago when mental health care shifted to community-based care while failing to create enough psychiatric support outside institutions.

At the same time, they see the hospital as an economic jump-start to the surrounding area.

Projections include 600-plus health care jobs (from entry-level to physicians and nurses), an annual boost of $60 million to the area economy, and the bump associated with a $300 million construction project.

Overall, the project is “an exceptional idea and way in which we can better utilize our land in a way that would be beneficial for our community more broadly,” said Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas. “This shows that this is a new day on Independence, Paseo and lots of streets many Kansas Citians don’t think about enough.”

Those thoroughfares were in the limelight in September 2015.

HUD Secretary Julian Castro came to town then to announce a federal grant to Kansas City to tear down the Chouteau Courts public housing project and support the Paseo Gateway District. The housing authority relocated the last of the Chouteau Courts residents to seven new developments in June.

Meanwhile, a range of nonprofit and government agencies have been working to revitalize the neighborhood. Plans included a mix of affordable single-family homes and apartments alongside commercial developments and a public space for community events.

Barsotti, the Columbus Park artist, and Michael Bushnell, a longtime resident of the Scarritt Renaissance neighborhood and former publisher of the Northeast News newspaper, fume that the psychiatric hospital will dash those dreams.

What’s more, the psychiatric hospital project comes on the heels of a city&nbsp;<a href="https://thebeaconnews.org/stories/2024/06/13/kanasas-city-low-barrier-homeless-shelter/" target="_blank">plan to establish a low-barrier homeless shelter</a>&nbsp;at Hope Faith Homeless Assistance Campus at 705 Virginia Ave.

“There needs to be a big ‘no.’ Not here. Go somewhere else,” Bushnell said. “We were promised a completely different development for Chouteau Court. … That’s the plan that needs to be followed.”

Shields said he received positive feedback about the psychiatric center from residents who attended a community information meeting held in August. But detractors said that instead of gathering input, the meeting organizers informed attendees about a done deal.

HUD could throw a wrench into the financial plans for the psychiatric hospital by requiring the housing authority to sell the former Chouteau Courts property for full market value.

The construction plan assumes the state will acquire the property at little or no cost.

Chouteau Courts was appraised at $1.6 million this year. Any potential environmental cleanup costs would be deducted from that value, said housing authority Executive Director Edwin Lowndes.

Lowndes said paperwork could be submitted to HUD in time for a decision from the agency by the end of November.

HUD can approve a sale for less than market value if it decides the deal has a public good, typically more public housing or projects that benefit people living in public housing. Lucas said the groundbreaking could come early next year.

The mayor acknowledged that residents have been frustrated about the start-and-stop nature of various proposals for the neighborhood. But he said such projects are inherently complicated and don’t always follow original plans.

Barsotti said any lack of follow-through breeds disillusionment.

“It’s really hard,” she said, “to tell people to keep engaging with your city government when it doesn’t seem to work, when they can’t trust what they’re told, when they don’t understand what they’re told, or there’s no time to deal with a big change.”

This&nbsp;<a href="https://thebeaconnews.org/stories/2024/10/09/kansas-city-mental-hospital-northeast/" target="_blank">article</a>&nbsp;first appeared on&nbsp;<a href="https://thebeaconnews.org/" target="_blank">Beacon: Kansas City</a>&nbsp;and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/10/1729016089523.png" alt=" Michael Bushnell stands near the planned site of a state psychiatric hospital in Kansas City’s historic Northeast. Bushnell, a longtime resident of the Scarritt Renaissance neighborhood and former publisher of the Northeast News newspaper, wants the hospital to be built somewhere else and said neighbors were promised a different plan for developing the site (Vaughn Wheat/The Beacon)." />
 <figcaption> Michael Bushnell stands near the planned site of a state psychiatric hospital in Kansas City’s historic Northeast. Bushnell, a longtime resident of the Scarritt Renaissance neighborhood and former publisher of the Northeast News newspaper, wants the hospital to be built somewhere else and said neighbors were promised a different plan for developing the site (Vaughn Wheat/The Beacon).</figcaption>
 </figure><h2>Neighborhood leaders contend the facility is not the right fit for the community’s doorstep and argue the area is saturated enough with social service providers</h2>BY:&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/author/mikesherry/">MIKE SHERRY</a>Residents in Kansas City’s historic Northeast neighborhood say plans for a state psychiatric hospital on the site of a former housing project and city park clash with plans for revitalizing their community.They’re losing patience with efforts to base ever more social services near their homes that they fear could make their streets a dumping ground for the city’s problems.“This will define one of our most important intersections, and I don’t know if defining it this way is healthy,” said Kate Barsotti, an artist and former president of the Columbus Park Community Council. “Is that shallow? Maybe. Could be. But I do understand people feeling sandbagged and disrespected and betrayed.”Meanwhile, the city, the state and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.universityhealthkc.org/" target="_blank">University Health</a>&nbsp;(formerly Truman Medical Center) see the psychiatric facility as an economic boon and a key part of what the region needs to deal with growing mental health demands.The Missouri Department of Mental Health estimates the hospital could open in late 2027 or early 2028 — if everything moves smoothly. And the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development could be a significant stumbling block to the plan.<h2>Serving the courts</h2>The roughly 20-acre parcel eyed for the psychiatric hospital used to be Belvidere Park and Chouteau Courts, a public housing complex. The tract is near the intersection of The Paseo and Independence Avenue.In June 2020, the Housing Authority of Kansas City, Missouri, finished demolishing the crumbling Chouteau Courts. The demolition came as part of the sweeping Paseo Gateway community revitalization project, funded through a $30 million grant from HUD.The new psychiatric hospital would be a one-level, 300,000-square-foot building on a triangular parcel between The Paseo to the east and Interstate 35 to the west. The new hospital would have 200 beds and generally serve the western half of the state.In tandem with the state’s Center for Behavioral Medicine, which is located on Hospital Hill, the new psychiatric hospital would take on a growing statewide backlog of more than 350 criminal defendants languishing in local jails as they await mental health treatment.Judges have ordered those inmates into the care of the department to see if it can restore their competency to stand trial, but DMH has nowhere to treat those people (with limited exceptions). DMH Director Valerie Huhn said the waiting list could reach 500 people by the end of this year.The department said about one-fifth of the pending cases fall in the Kansas City region. It already operates 65 competency-restoration beds (intended to get defendants mentally well enough to stand trial) at the Center for Behavioral Medicine. The new hospital would boost that total to 100 beds while those at the existing facility would be repurposed.University Health would use the other beds for short-term psychiatric treatment generally lasting two weeks or less. Patients would get psychiatric care medication management and referrals to outpatient programs. The health system would reserve 25 of its beds for referrals from the Kansas City Municipal Court or other providers in the city.University Health would also operate a psychiatric emergency department at the hospital, something law enforcement turns to avoid taking them to a conventional emergency room or jail.University Health closed its psychiatric emergency department in 2015, but Chief Executive Officer Charlie Shields said it faces fewer regulatory hurdles in operating as part of a psychiatric hospital.Critically, it lightens the load for the Center for Behavioral Medicine so it can concentrate on long-term care that can average stays of nine years for treating conditions like schizophrenia or bipolar disorder.A psychiatric emergency room “allows us to catch people before they get to a point of committing a crime, especially in that Jackson County area,” Huhn said, “and then give them … resources so that they don’t commit crimes and have to go through this whole process.”Huhn and others tout the safety of the proposed new hospital. It will have a perimeter fence. Patient units will be locked. In that way, it will operate like similar state facilities near residential areas in other parts of the state.Supporters also say the hospital will offer additional training to area medical programs. It will also open more inpatient beds and fix some of the problems created decades ago when mental health care shifted to community-based care while failing to create enough psychiatric support outside institutions.At the same time, they see the hospital as an economic jump-start to the surrounding area.Projections include 600-plus health care jobs (from entry-level to physicians and nurses), an annual boost of $60 million to the area economy, and the bump associated with a $300 million construction project.Overall, the project is “an exceptional idea and way in which we can better utilize our land in a way that would be beneficial for our community more broadly,” said Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas. “This shows that this is a new day on Independence, Paseo and lots of streets many Kansas Citians don’t think about enough.”<h2>Choice neighborhoods</h2>Those thoroughfares were in the limelight in September 2015.HUD Secretary Julian Castro came to town then to announce a federal grant to Kansas City to tear down the Chouteau Courts public housing project and support the Paseo Gateway District. The housing authority relocated the last of the Chouteau Courts residents to seven new developments in June.Meanwhile, a range of nonprofit and government agencies have been working to revitalize the neighborhood. Plans included a mix of affordable single-family homes and apartments alongside commercial developments and a public space for community events.Barsotti, the Columbus Park artist, and Michael Bushnell, a longtime resident of the Scarritt Renaissance neighborhood and former publisher of the Northeast News newspaper, fume that the psychiatric hospital will dash those dreams.What’s more, the psychiatric hospital project comes on the heels of a city&nbsp;<a href="https://thebeaconnews.org/stories/2024/06/13/kanasas-city-low-barrier-homeless-shelter/" target="_blank">plan to establish a low-barrier homeless shelter</a>&nbsp;at Hope Faith Homeless Assistance Campus at 705 Virginia Ave.“There needs to be a big ‘no.’ Not here. Go somewhere else,” Bushnell said. “We were promised a completely different development for Chouteau Court. … That’s the plan that needs to be followed.”Shields said he received positive feedback about the psychiatric center from residents who attended a community information meeting held in August. But detractors said that instead of gathering input, the meeting organizers informed attendees about a done deal.<h2>HUD’s role</h2>HUD could throw a wrench into the financial plans for the psychiatric hospital by requiring the housing authority to sell the former Chouteau Courts property for full market value.The construction plan assumes the state will acquire the property at little or no cost.Chouteau Courts was appraised at $1.6 million this year. Any potential environmental cleanup costs would be deducted from that value, said housing authority Executive Director Edwin Lowndes.Lowndes said paperwork could be submitted to HUD in time for a decision from the agency by the end of November.HUD can approve a sale for less than market value if it decides the deal has a public good, typically more public housing or projects that benefit people living in public housing. Lucas said the groundbreaking could come early next year.The mayor acknowledged that residents have been frustrated about the start-and-stop nature of various proposals for the neighborhood. But he said such projects are inherently complicated and don’t always follow original plans.Barsotti said any lack of follow-through breeds disillusionment.“It’s really hard,” she said, “to tell people to keep engaging with your city government when it doesn’t seem to work, when they can’t trust what they’re told, when they don’t understand what they’re told, or there’s no time to deal with a big change.”This&nbsp;<a href="https://thebeaconnews.org/stories/2024/10/09/kansas-city-mental-hospital-northeast/" target="_blank">article</a>&nbsp;first appeared on&nbsp;<a href="https://thebeaconnews.org/" target="_blank">Beacon: Kansas City</a>&nbsp;and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.

Long-awaited Kansas City psychiatric hospital sparks resistance among neighborhood residents

SHAWNEE COUNTY —Law enforcement are investigating a Kansas woman on multiple allegations after a police chase in Shawnee County.

Just after 2:30 a.m. Sunday, a Sheriff’s Deputy attempted to conduct a traffic stop on a Buick Park Avenue with an expired license plate near NE Fairchild Street and North Kansas Avenue in Shawnee County, according to Deputy Abigail Christian.

The driver refused to stop and initiated a pursuit. The pursuit ended in the 2700 block of NE Sardou Avenue and the driver was taken into custody.

Stephanie L. Wagner, 31, was booked into the Shawnee County Department of Corrections on requested charges of Fleeing or attempting to elude law enforcement, Operating a vehicle without registration, Speeding, Fail to stop at a stop sign, Violating a traffic control signal and No vehicle liability insurance.&nbsp; Wagner also has two warrants for her arrest.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/10/1728868684409.png" alt="Wagner photo Shawnee Co." />
 <figcaption>Wagner photo Shawnee Co.</figcaption>
 </figure>SHAWNEE COUNTY —Law enforcement are investigating a Kansas woman on multiple allegations after a police chase in Shawnee County.Just after 2:30 a.m. Sunday, a Sheriff’s Deputy attempted to conduct a traffic stop on a Buick Park Avenue with an expired license plate near NE Fairchild Street and North Kansas Avenue in Shawnee County, according to Deputy Abigail Christian.The driver refused to stop and initiated a pursuit. The pursuit ended in the 2700 block of NE Sardou Avenue and the driver was taken into custody.Stephanie L. Wagner, 31, was booked into the Shawnee County Department of Corrections on requested charges of Fleeing or attempting to elude law enforcement, Operating a vehicle without registration, Speeding, Fail to stop at a stop sign, Violating a traffic control signal and No vehicle liability insurance.&nbsp; Wagner also has two warrants for her arrest.

Kan. woman wanted on warrants captured after pursuit

BY:&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/author/shauneen-miranda/">SHAUNEEN MIRANDA</a> <a href="https://statesnewsroom.com/">States Newsroom</a>

As former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris sprint to the November finish line, one sprawling policy area has largely fallen out of the spotlight — education.

Though the respective GOP and Democratic presidential candidates have spent comparatively more time campaigning on issues such as immigration, foreign policy and the economy, their ideas surrounding K-12 and higher education vastly differ.

Trump’s education platform vows to “save American education,” with a focus on parental rights, universal school choice and a fight for “patriotic education” in schools.

“By increasing access to school choice, empowering parents to have a voice in their child’s education, and supporting good teachers, President Trump will improve academic excellence for all students,” Karoline Leavitt, Trump campaign national press secretary, said in a statement to States Newsroom.

Trump “believes students should be taught reading, writing, and math in the classroom — not gender, sex and race like the Biden Administration is pushing on our public school system,” Leavitt added.

Meanwhile, the Harris campaign has largely focused on the education investments brought by the Biden-Harris administration and building on those efforts if she is elected.

“Over the past four years, the Administration has made unprecedented investments in education, including the single-largest investment in K-12 education in history, which Vice President Harris cast the tie-breaking vote to pass,” Mia Ehrenberg, a campaign spokesperson, told States Newsroom.

Ehrenberg said that while Harris and her running mate, Democratic Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, “will build on those investments and continue fighting until every student has the support and the resources they need to thrive, Republicans led by Donald Trump and his extreme Project 2025 agenda want to cut billions from local K-12 schools and eliminate the Department of Education, undermining America’s students and schools.”

Harris has repeatedly knocked the Heritage Foundation’s&nbsp;<a href="https://static.project2025.org/2025_MandateForLeadership_FULL.pdf" target="_blank">Project 2025</a>&nbsp;— a sweeping conservative agenda that includes education policy proposals like eliminating Head Start, ending time-based and occupation-based student loan forgiveness and barring teachers from using a student’s preferred pronouns different from their “biological sex” without written permission from a parent or guardian.

Trump has fiercely disavowed Project 2025, although some former members of his administration crafted the blueprint.

Trump has&nbsp;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Zxfnqj_3XQ" target="_blank">called for shutting down</a>&nbsp;the U.S. Department of Education and said he wants to “move education back to the states.” The department is not the main funding source for K-12 schools, as&nbsp;<a href="https://www.urban.org/policy-centers/cross-center-initiatives/state-and-local-finance-initiative/state-and-local-backgrounders/elementary-and-secondary-education-expenditures" target="_blank">state and local governments</a>&nbsp;allocate much of those dollars.

In contrast, Harris said at the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/lets-fight-it-harris-vows-chart-new-way-forward-defeat-trump" target="_blank">Democratic National Convention</a>&nbsp;in August that “we are not going to let him eliminate the Department of Education that funds our public schools.”

Living wage for school staff; parental bill of rights

Trump’s education plan calls for creating a “new credentialing body to certify teachers who embrace patriotic values, and understand that their job is not to indoctrinate children, but to educate them.”

He also wants to implement funding boosts for schools that “abolish teacher tenure” for grades K-12 and adopt “merit pay,” establish the direct election of school principals by parents and “drastically cut” the number of school administrators.

In contrast, the&nbsp;<a href="https://democrats.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/FINAL-MASTER-PLATFORM.pdf" target="_blank">Democratic Party’s 2024 platform</a>&nbsp;calls for recruiting “more new teachers, paraprofessionals and school related personnel, and education support professionals, with the option for some to even start training in high school.”

The platform also aims to help “school-support staff to advance in their own careers with a living wage” and improve working conditions for teachers.

Trump also wants to give funding boosts to schools that adopt a “Parental Bill of Rights that includes complete curriculum transparency, and a form of universal school choice.”

He’s threatening to cut federal funding for schools that teach the primarily collegiate academic subject known as “critical race theory,” gender ideology or “other inappropriate racial, sexual, or political content on our children.”

The Democrats’ platform opposes “the use of private-school vouchers, tuition tax credits, opportunity scholarships, and other schemes that divert taxpayer-funded resources away from public education,” adding that “public tax dollars should never be used to discriminate.”

Earlier this year, the Biden-Harris administration&nbsp;<a href="https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/much-attacked-final-title-ix-rule-goes-effect-while-still-blocked-26-states" target="_blank">released a final rule for Title IX</a>&nbsp;extending federal protections for LGBTQ+ students.

The updated regulations took effect Aug. 1, but a slew of GOP-led states challenged the measure. The legal battles have created a policy patchwork and weakened the administration’s vision for the final rule.

The updated regulations&nbsp;<a href="https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/biden-administration-roll-back-betsy-devos-title-ix-rules" target="_blank">roll back Title IX changes</a>&nbsp;made under the Trump administration and then-Education Secretary Betsy DeVos.

Trump vowed to&nbsp;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5qU5EDho3qs" target="_blank">terminate the updated regulations</a>&nbsp;on his first day back in office if reelected.

Harris has repeatedly touted the administration’s record on student loan forgiveness, including nearly&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ed.gov/about/news/press-release/biden-harris-administration-approves-additional-12-billion-student-debt" target="_blank">$170 billion</a>&nbsp;in student debt relief for almost 5 million borrowers.

The administration’s most recent student loan repayment initiative came to a grinding halt in August after the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/bidens-newest-student-loan-repayment-plan-temporarily-blocked-supreme-court" target="_blank">U.S. Supreme Court temporarily blocked</a>&nbsp;the Saving on a Valuable Education, or SAVE, plan.

Although little is mentioned about education in Harris’&nbsp;<a href="https://kamalaharris.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Policy_Book_Economic-Opportunity.pdf" target="_blank">extensive economic plan</a>, the proposal makes clear that the veep will “continue working to end the unreasonable burden of student loan debt and fight to make higher education more affordable, so that college can be a ticket to the middle class.”

She also plans to cut four-year degree requirements for half a million federal jobs.

Trump — who dubbed the Biden-Harris administration’s&nbsp;<a href="https://rollcall.com/factbase/trump/transcript/donald-trump-speech-political-rally-racine-wisconsin-june-18-2024/" target="_blank">student loan forgiveness efforts</a>&nbsp;as “not even legal” — sought to repeal the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program during his administration.

His education platform also&nbsp;<a href="https://www.donaldjtrump.com/agenda47/agenda47-the-american-academy" target="_blank">calls for endowing</a>&nbsp;the “American Academy,” a free, online university.

Trump said he will endow the new institution through the “billions and billions of dollars that we will collect by taxing, fining, and suing excessively large private university endowments.”

BY:&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/author/shauneen-miranda/">SHAUNEEN MIRANDA</a> <a href="https://statesnewsroom.com/">States Newsroom</a>As former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris sprint to the November finish line, one sprawling policy area has largely fallen out of the spotlight — education.Though the respective GOP and Democratic presidential candidates have spent comparatively more time campaigning on issues such as immigration, foreign policy and the economy, their ideas surrounding K-12 and higher education vastly differ.Trump’s education platform vows to “save American education,” with a focus on parental rights, universal school choice and a fight for “patriotic education” in schools.“By increasing access to school choice, empowering parents to have a voice in their child’s education, and supporting good teachers, President Trump will improve academic excellence for all students,” Karoline Leavitt, Trump campaign national press secretary, said in a statement to States Newsroom.Trump “believes students should be taught reading, writing, and math in the classroom — not gender, sex and race like the Biden Administration is pushing on our public school system,” Leavitt added.Meanwhile, the Harris campaign has largely focused on the education investments brought by the Biden-Harris administration and building on those efforts if she is elected.“Over the past four years, the Administration has made unprecedented investments in education, including the single-largest investment in K-12 education in history, which Vice President Harris cast the tie-breaking vote to pass,” Mia Ehrenberg, a campaign spokesperson, told States Newsroom.Ehrenberg said that while Harris and her running mate, Democratic Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, “will build on those investments and continue fighting until every student has the support and the resources they need to thrive, Republicans led by Donald Trump and his extreme Project 2025 agenda want to cut billions from local K-12 schools and eliminate the Department of Education, undermining America’s students and schools.”Harris has repeatedly knocked the Heritage Foundation’s&nbsp;<a href="https://static.project2025.org/2025_MandateForLeadership_FULL.pdf" target="_blank">Project 2025</a>&nbsp;— a sweeping conservative agenda that includes education policy proposals like eliminating Head Start, ending time-based and occupation-based student loan forgiveness and barring teachers from using a student’s preferred pronouns different from their “biological sex” without written permission from a parent or guardian.Trump has fiercely disavowed Project 2025, although some former members of his administration crafted the blueprint.<h2>Closing the U.S. Department of Education</h2>Trump has&nbsp;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Zxfnqj_3XQ" target="_blank">called for shutting down</a>&nbsp;the U.S. Department of Education and said he wants to “move education back to the states.” The department is not the main funding source for K-12 schools, as&nbsp;<a href="https://www.urban.org/policy-centers/cross-center-initiatives/state-and-local-finance-initiative/state-and-local-backgrounders/elementary-and-secondary-education-expenditures" target="_blank">state and local governments</a>&nbsp;allocate much of those dollars.In contrast, Harris said at the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/lets-fight-it-harris-vows-chart-new-way-forward-defeat-trump" target="_blank">Democratic National Convention</a>&nbsp;in August that “we are not going to let him eliminate the Department of Education that funds our public schools.”<h2>Living wage for school staff; parental bill of rights</h2>Trump’s education plan calls for creating a “new credentialing body to certify teachers who embrace patriotic values, and understand that their job is not to indoctrinate children, but to educate them.”He also wants to implement funding boosts for schools that “abolish teacher tenure” for grades K-12 and adopt “merit pay,” establish the direct election of school principals by parents and “drastically cut” the number of school administrators.In contrast, the&nbsp;<a href="https://democrats.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/FINAL-MASTER-PLATFORM.pdf" target="_blank">Democratic Party’s 2024 platform</a>&nbsp;calls for recruiting “more new teachers, paraprofessionals and school related personnel, and education support professionals, with the option for some to even start training in high school.”The platform also aims to help “school-support staff to advance in their own careers with a living wage” and improve working conditions for teachers.Trump also wants to give funding boosts to schools that adopt a “Parental Bill of Rights that includes complete curriculum transparency, and a form of universal school choice.”He’s threatening to cut federal funding for schools that teach the primarily collegiate academic subject known as “critical race theory,” gender ideology or “other inappropriate racial, sexual, or political content on our children.”The Democrats’ platform opposes “the use of private-school vouchers, tuition tax credits, opportunity scholarships, and other schemes that divert taxpayer-funded resources away from public education,” adding that “public tax dollars should never be used to discriminate.”<h2>Title IX&nbsp;</h2>Earlier this year, the Biden-Harris administration&nbsp;<a href="https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/much-attacked-final-title-ix-rule-goes-effect-while-still-blocked-26-states" target="_blank">released a final rule for Title IX</a>&nbsp;extending federal protections for LGBTQ+ students.The updated regulations took effect Aug. 1, but a slew of GOP-led states challenged the measure. The legal battles have created a policy patchwork and weakened the administration’s vision for the final rule.The updated regulations&nbsp;<a href="https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/biden-administration-roll-back-betsy-devos-title-ix-rules" target="_blank">roll back Title IX changes</a>&nbsp;made under the Trump administration and then-Education Secretary Betsy DeVos.Trump vowed to&nbsp;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5qU5EDho3qs" target="_blank">terminate the updated regulations</a>&nbsp;on his first day back in office if reelected.<h2>Student debt and higher education&nbsp;</h2>Harris has repeatedly touted the administration’s record on student loan forgiveness, including nearly&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ed.gov/about/news/press-release/biden-harris-administration-approves-additional-12-billion-student-debt" target="_blank">$170 billion</a>&nbsp;in student debt relief for almost 5 million borrowers.The administration’s most recent student loan repayment initiative came to a grinding halt in August after the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/bidens-newest-student-loan-repayment-plan-temporarily-blocked-supreme-court" target="_blank">U.S. Supreme Court temporarily blocked</a>&nbsp;the Saving on a Valuable Education, or SAVE, plan.Although little is mentioned about education in Harris’&nbsp;<a href="https://kamalaharris.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Policy_Book_Economic-Opportunity.pdf" target="_blank">extensive economic plan</a>, the proposal makes clear that the veep will “continue working to end the unreasonable burden of student loan debt and fight to make higher education more affordable, so that college can be a ticket to the middle class.”She also plans to cut four-year degree requirements for half a million federal jobs.Trump — who dubbed the Biden-Harris administration’s&nbsp;<a href="https://rollcall.com/factbase/trump/transcript/donald-trump-speech-political-rally-racine-wisconsin-june-18-2024/" target="_blank">student loan forgiveness efforts</a>&nbsp;as “not even legal” — sought to repeal the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program during his administration.His education platform also&nbsp;<a href="https://www.donaldjtrump.com/agenda47/agenda47-the-american-academy" target="_blank">calls for endowing</a>&nbsp;the “American Academy,” a free, online university.Trump said he will endow the new institution through the “billions and billions of dollars that we will collect by taxing, fining, and suing excessively large private university endowments.”

Education: Where do Harris and Trump stand?

JOHNSON COUNTY —A Kansas woman was injured in a fire at her apartment in Olathe.

Around 9:30 pm firefighters responded to a kitchen fire in a unit at the&nbsp; Bristol Pointe Apartment Homes, 533 North Somerset Terrace, according to a social media report from Olathe Fire Deparatment.

Johnson County Med Act transported&nbsp; woman with non-life threatening burns was taken to an area burn center.&nbsp; She was burned by hot oil while cooking.

"Every fire reminds us to check our home’s smoke alarms by pressing the test button. And, replace any alarm that is 10 years of age or older."

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/10/1728986519197.png" alt="Image from Olathe Fire Department video" />
 <figcaption>Image from Olathe Fire Department video</figcaption>
 </figure>JOHNSON COUNTY —A Kansas woman was injured in a fire at her apartment in Olathe.Around 9:30 pm firefighters responded to a kitchen fire in a unit at the&nbsp; Bristol Pointe Apartment Homes, 533 North Somerset Terrace, according to a social media report from Olathe Fire Deparatment.Johnson County Med Act transported&nbsp; woman with non-life threatening burns was taken to an area burn center.&nbsp; She was burned by hot oil while cooking."Every fire reminds us to check our home’s smoke alarms by pressing the test button. And, replace any alarm that is 10 years of age or older."

Kan. woman hospitalized after burned by hot oil fire

Zach Wendling <a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2024/10/09/midwest-secretaries-of-state-host-election-security-and-integrity-summit-in-nebraska/">Nebraska Examiner</a>

OMAHA —&nbsp;Four secretaries of state and a federal agency director in cybersecurity described their work Wednesday as a line of defense in upholding election integrity and security ahead of the Nov. 5 election.

Nebraska Secretary of State Bob Evnen, in explaining the reason for Wednesday’s summit, asked simply, “Why not?” He said the Midwest states of Nebraska, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri and South Dakota have demonstrated that elections can be safe, smooth and secure.

“Election security is not static. Election security is not a one-and-done deal. Election security is dynamic,” Evnen said at the news conference. “If you’re going to continue to address these dynamic challenges to elections, then you do so in a dynamic fashion.”

The ‘imperative’ of election confidence

The&nbsp;<a href="https://www.unomaha.edu/ncite/index.php" target="_blank">National Counterterrorism Innovation, Technology and Education Center</a>, or NCITE, headquartered at the University of Nebraska at Omaha, hosted the event.

Evnen’s three counterparts from Iowa (Paul Pate), Missouri (Jay Ashcroft) and South Dakota (Monae Johnson) joined the event, which Evnen said he expects to be repeated in future years. Kansas Secretary of State Scott Schwab participated in other summit events, including briefings on NCITE research, but was unable to attend the news conference, officials said.

Pate, who is in his fourth term as Iowa’s secretary of state, said he has seen elections evolve and become “more aggressive” in the past two decades, particularly through technology.

Yet election confidence remains essential, Pate said, and secretaries of state are doing everything they can to uphold integrity and security.

“It’s imperative that Americans, and Iowans, have confidence in those election results because the day after the election, if they don’t believe that that’s their governor or their senator or their president, our Republic has fallen without a single bullet being fired,” Pate said. “That’s not acceptable, so we’re going to continue to be vigilant and do what we can on our front.”

Director Jen Easterly of the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cisa.gov/news-events/alerts/2018/11/19/cybersecurity-and-infrastructure-security-agency" target="_blank">U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency</a>, said CISA stands “shoulder to shoulder” with election officials nationwide. She said she has “tremendous confidence” in U.S. elections.

Easterly said CISA was&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cisa.gov/news-events/alerts/2018/11/19/cybersecurity-and-infrastructure-security-agency" target="_blank">established in 2018</a>&nbsp;from a previous U.S. Department of Homeland Security agency in part due to foreign attempts to influence the 2016 presidential election and after election infrastructure was designated as “critical” infrastructure.

The agency helps state and local election officials to prepare for any threats, including ransomware,&nbsp;<a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/briefs/nonhazardous-material-found-in-envelope-sent-to-ne-secretary-of-states-office-caution-urged/" target="_blank">physical threats</a>&nbsp;and threats from foreign adversaries (such as Russia, Iran and China). Some of the support the agency provides, Easterly said, are security assessments, hypothetical scenario training and training for de-escalation and anti-active shooter incidents.

“At the end of the day, we know that elections will be safe. They will be secure. They will be free. They will be fair. But there will be things that go wrong,” Easterly said. “The good news is these disruptions, while problematic, will not affect how votes are counted and how votes are cast.”

Evnen said some of the ways that Nebraska has partnered with CISA in the past two years have included weekly scans of all 93 Nebraska county election websites for vulnerabilities, giving local officials “.gov” emails and website addresses and setting up internal protocols for day-to-day security.

“These are important steps we’re taking across Nebraska to ensure that our cyberinfrastructure is protected,” Evnen said.

Pate said those steps are national standards as officials “plan for the worst and hope for the best.”

All five secretaries of state who partnered with NCITE this week are elected Republicans, and Ashcroft said the officials don’t serve just Republicans or Democrats or&nbsp; Libertarians or any other third parties in their respective states.

He said if officials do their job well, they are the basketball ref or linesman of a football game who “no one notices.”

The secretaries of state and Easterly invited more people to get involved in the election process, such as serving as poll workers or watchers, and for anyone who has questions to ask.

“We run elections for the people of the states,” Ashcroft explained. “We run elections for our government because it is how ‘we the people’ decide that our Republic will move forward.”

Ashcroft added that no matter who wins or loses, or which issues pass or fail, “at the end of the day, the American people can drink their beverage of choice and either celebrate or commiserate, but know that they were a part of the decision, that their votes counted and that the votes made a difference.”

The election officials noted that it is typical for “official” results not to be finalized for up to a week after Election Day, but they said that’s due in part due to the need to process provisional ballots, as well as conducting the “checks and balances” needed to ensure accurate results, particularly in close races, or possibly hand-count some ballots.

But for the most part, the secretaries of state said of their jurisdictions, most election results are typically available within a few hours of polls closing on Election Day.

“I believe in getting quick results out, my colleagues do, but we all believe in getting it right, and we believe in making sure that every American, no matter where Uncle Sam has sent them, has the right to participate in our elections,” Ashcroft said, indicating overseas voters.

Johnson, from South Dakota, said the “greatest unease” about the general election is the period between when polls close and when results are finalized. She said officials are workshopping scenarios with public safety teams to ensure that post-election events proceed smoothly and on time.

“Protecting the voting process and its facilitators is a collaborative process, and we have full faith in our state’s ability to overcome any disruptions,” Johnson said.

Gina Ligon, director of NCITE at the University of Nebraska at Omaha, said the center, which includes 38 partner universities, is working on four projects, such as tracking threats to election workers through federal charges and possible threats from emerging technologies.

Ligon said the federal charges are the “tip of the iceberg” as federal charges are a “really high bar,” while other NCITE research includes threats or violence specifically against election officials in swing states, including Pennsylvania, Arizona and Georgia.

Those states have seen the largest spikes in data in recent years, Ligon said.

That project is extending to Nebraska, partially with the competitiveness of Nebraska’s 2nd Congressional District for president. There are currently no federal charges, according to Ligon.

Other research, out of the University of Arkansas, includes interviews of election workers who have faced threats of violence. Initial research has indicated women don’t always report when they are victims of violence, Ligon said, and that people don’t understand when they cross First Amendment protections from anger to prohibited threats.

“As much as people say this is nothing new&nbsp;— ‘we’ve experienced this for a long time’ — our data just doesn’t support that,” Ligon said.

As of this time, Easterly said, there have been no specific election threats from terrorists, though she noted federal authorities thwarted the apparent plans of an&nbsp;<a href="https://oklahomavoice.com/briefs/oklahoma-city-man-faces-charges-related-to-planned-election-day-terrorist-attack-authorities-say/" target="_blank">Oklahoma City man</a>&nbsp;on Tuesday and charged him with allegedly plotting a terrorist attack on Election Day in support of ISIS.

“If there are other things that we are seeing from the terrorist landscape, we will ensure that election officials are apprised of that immediately,” Easterly said.

Easterly said the period between Election Day on Nov. 5 and the presidential inauguration on Jan. 20 will be critical. She said foreign adversaries will try to create a “wedge” and attempt to “shred our institutions” or sow discord as each milestone of certification and validation passes.

“That’s why it’s up to all of us as Americans — as the secretary (Ashcroft) said, ‘We the people’ — these elections are for us,” Easterly said. “It’s up to all of us to do our part in protecting and preserving our democracy.”

Nebraska Examiner, a States Newsroom affiliate,&nbsp;<a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2024/10/09/midwest-secretaries-of-state-host-election-security-and-integrity-summit-in-nebraska/" target="_blank">produced this story</a>.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/10/1729007505031.png" alt=" Nebraska Secretary of State Bob Evnen, at podium, leads a news conference Oct. 9, 2024, in Omaha on election security and integrity. Behind him, from left, are Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate, Missouri Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft, South Dakota Secretary of State Monae Johnson, Director Jen Easterly of the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency and Director Gina Ligon of the National Counterterrorism Innovation, Technology and Education Center at the University of Nebraska at Omaha. (Zach Wendling/Nebraska Examiner)" />
 <figcaption> Nebraska Secretary of State Bob Evnen, at podium, leads a news conference Oct. 9, 2024, in Omaha on election security and integrity. Behind him, from left, are Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate, Missouri Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft, South Dakota Secretary of State Monae Johnson, Director Jen Easterly of the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency and Director Gina Ligon of the National Counterterrorism Innovation, Technology and Education Center at the University of Nebraska at Omaha. (Zach Wendling/Nebraska Examiner)</figcaption>
 </figure>Zach Wendling <a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2024/10/09/midwest-secretaries-of-state-host-election-security-and-integrity-summit-in-nebraska/">Nebraska Examiner</a>OMAHA —&nbsp;Four secretaries of state and a federal agency director in cybersecurity described their work Wednesday as a line of defense in upholding election integrity and security ahead of the Nov. 5 election.Nebraska Secretary of State Bob Evnen, in explaining the reason for Wednesday’s summit, asked simply, “Why not?” He said the Midwest states of Nebraska, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri and South Dakota have demonstrated that elections can be safe, smooth and secure.“Election security is not static. Election security is not a one-and-done deal. Election security is dynamic,” Evnen said at the news conference. “If you’re going to continue to address these dynamic challenges to elections, then you do so in a dynamic fashion.”<h2>The ‘imperative’ of election confidence</h2>The&nbsp;<a href="https://www.unomaha.edu/ncite/index.php" target="_blank">National Counterterrorism Innovation, Technology and Education Center</a>, or NCITE, headquartered at the University of Nebraska at Omaha, hosted the event.Evnen’s three counterparts from Iowa (Paul Pate), Missouri (Jay Ashcroft) and South Dakota (Monae Johnson) joined the event, which Evnen said he expects to be repeated in future years. Kansas Secretary of State Scott Schwab participated in other summit events, including briefings on NCITE research, but was unable to attend the news conference, officials said.Pate, who is in his fourth term as Iowa’s secretary of state, said he has seen elections evolve and become “more aggressive” in the past two decades, particularly through technology.Yet election confidence remains essential, Pate said, and secretaries of state are doing everything they can to uphold integrity and security.“It’s imperative that Americans, and Iowans, have confidence in those election results because the day after the election, if they don’t believe that that’s their governor or their senator or their president, our Republic has fallen without a single bullet being fired,” Pate said. “That’s not acceptable, so we’re going to continue to be vigilant and do what we can on our front.”Director Jen Easterly of the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cisa.gov/news-events/alerts/2018/11/19/cybersecurity-and-infrastructure-security-agency" target="_blank">U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency</a>, said CISA stands “shoulder to shoulder” with election officials nationwide. She said she has “tremendous confidence” in U.S. elections.Easterly said CISA was&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cisa.gov/news-events/alerts/2018/11/19/cybersecurity-and-infrastructure-security-agency" target="_blank">established in 2018</a>&nbsp;from a previous U.S. Department of Homeland Security agency in part due to foreign attempts to influence the 2016 presidential election and after election infrastructure was designated as “critical” infrastructure.<h2>Security protocols and training</h2>The agency helps state and local election officials to prepare for any threats, including ransomware,&nbsp;<a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/briefs/nonhazardous-material-found-in-envelope-sent-to-ne-secretary-of-states-office-caution-urged/" target="_blank">physical threats</a>&nbsp;and threats from foreign adversaries (such as Russia, Iran and China). Some of the support the agency provides, Easterly said, are security assessments, hypothetical scenario training and training for de-escalation and anti-active shooter incidents.“At the end of the day, we know that elections will be safe. They will be secure. They will be free. They will be fair. But there will be things that go wrong,” Easterly said. “The good news is these disruptions, while problematic, will not affect how votes are counted and how votes are cast.”Evnen said some of the ways that Nebraska has partnered with CISA in the past two years have included weekly scans of all 93 Nebraska county election websites for vulnerabilities, giving local officials “.gov” emails and website addresses and setting up internal protocols for day-to-day security.“These are important steps we’re taking across Nebraska to ensure that our cyberinfrastructure is protected,” Evnen said.Pate said those steps are national standards as officials “plan for the worst and hope for the best.”<h2>Elections for ‘we the people’</h2>All five secretaries of state who partnered with NCITE this week are elected Republicans, and Ashcroft said the officials don’t serve just Republicans or Democrats or&nbsp; Libertarians or any other third parties in their respective states.He said if officials do their job well, they are the basketball ref or linesman of a football game who “no one notices.”The secretaries of state and Easterly invited more people to get involved in the election process, such as serving as poll workers or watchers, and for anyone who has questions to ask.“We run elections for the people of the states,” Ashcroft explained. “We run elections for our government because it is how ‘we the people’ decide that our Republic will move forward.”Ashcroft added that no matter who wins or loses, or which issues pass or fail, “at the end of the day, the American people can drink their beverage of choice and either celebrate or commiserate, but know that they were a part of the decision, that their votes counted and that the votes made a difference.”The election officials noted that it is typical for “official” results not to be finalized for up to a week after Election Day, but they said that’s due in part due to the need to process provisional ballots, as well as conducting the “checks and balances” needed to ensure accurate results, particularly in close races, or possibly hand-count some ballots.But for the most part, the secretaries of state said of their jurisdictions, most election results are typically available within a few hours of polls closing on Election Day.“I believe in getting quick results out, my colleagues do, but we all believe in getting it right, and we believe in making sure that every American, no matter where Uncle Sam has sent them, has the right to participate in our elections,” Ashcroft said, indicating overseas voters.Johnson, from South Dakota, said the “greatest unease” about the general election is the period between when polls close and when results are finalized. She said officials are workshopping scenarios with public safety teams to ensure that post-election events proceed smoothly and on time.“Protecting the voting process and its facilitators is a collaborative process, and we have full faith in our state’s ability to overcome any disruptions,” Johnson said.<h2>NCITE research</h2>Gina Ligon, director of NCITE at the University of Nebraska at Omaha, said the center, which includes 38 partner universities, is working on four projects, such as tracking threats to election workers through federal charges and possible threats from emerging technologies.Ligon said the federal charges are the “tip of the iceberg” as federal charges are a “really high bar,” while other NCITE research includes threats or violence specifically against election officials in swing states, including Pennsylvania, Arizona and Georgia.Those states have seen the largest spikes in data in recent years, Ligon said.That project is extending to Nebraska, partially with the competitiveness of Nebraska’s 2nd Congressional District for president. There are currently no federal charges, according to Ligon.Other research, out of the University of Arkansas, includes interviews of election workers who have faced threats of violence. Initial research has indicated women don’t always report when they are victims of violence, Ligon said, and that people don’t understand when they cross First Amendment protections from anger to prohibited threats.“As much as people say this is nothing new&nbsp;— ‘we’ve experienced this for a long time’ — our data just doesn’t support that,” Ligon said.<h2>‘It’s up to all of us’</h2>As of this time, Easterly said, there have been no specific election threats from terrorists, though she noted federal authorities thwarted the apparent plans of an&nbsp;<a href="https://oklahomavoice.com/briefs/oklahoma-city-man-faces-charges-related-to-planned-election-day-terrorist-attack-authorities-say/" target="_blank">Oklahoma City man</a>&nbsp;on Tuesday and charged him with allegedly plotting a terrorist attack on Election Day in support of ISIS.“If there are other things that we are seeing from the terrorist landscape, we will ensure that election officials are apprised of that immediately,” Easterly said.Easterly said the period between Election Day on Nov. 5 and the presidential inauguration on Jan. 20 will be critical. She said foreign adversaries will try to create a “wedge” and attempt to “shred our institutions” or sow discord as each milestone of certification and validation passes.“That’s why it’s up to all of us as Americans — as the secretary (Ashcroft) said, ‘We the people’ — these elections are for us,” Easterly said. “It’s up to all of us to do our part in protecting and preserving our democracy.”Nebraska Examiner, a States Newsroom affiliate,&nbsp;<a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2024/10/09/midwest-secretaries-of-state-host-election-security-and-integrity-summit-in-nebraska/" target="_blank">produced this story</a>.

Midwest secretaries of state host election security and integrity summit

JOHNSON COUNTY —Members of Kansas Task Force 2 are on their way home from hurricane response duty.

While in Florida, the task force teams&nbsp; performed search and rescue efforts with one squad utilizing a boat and another squad using ATV’s, according to a social media report from the Kansas Fire Marshal's office.

Historic flooding remains a concern in the area where Task Force 2 was assigned for their search and rescue efforts. Being unfamiliar with the area, flood concerns are taken seriously so search and rescue operations are not jeopardized.

The Task Force was able to provide some true Kansas hospitality as they helped cook camp breakfast for members of various task forces. This type of teamwork is a great way to build rapport not only for KS-TF2, but also with other task force teams in the same area.

In the field during disaster response, work areas are not the normal office setting many back home enjoy while in the office. For Randy Hill, former Kansas State Fire Marshal Search and Rescue (SAR) Coordinator and current contractor with the Kansas State Fire Marshal, that means setting up an office in the back of one of the Kansas State Fire Marshal trailers. 

Task Force members adapt and work with what they have so assignments can be completed in safe and timely manners. Kansas Task Force 2 members also assisted Florida-Task Force 7 with getting their new boat built and ready for service so they can continue their search and rescue efforts. 

"Kansas Task Force 2 members have stepped up to the call and delivered professional, meaningful, and much needed assistance to Florida. One of the reasons that is possible is training they receive and their compassion about Search and Rescue response."&nbsp;

&nbsp;On Sunday, Kansas Task Force 2 was notified&nbsp; that they were going to be demobilized and released from their deployment. They began the two-day drive home back to Kansas on Monday.&nbsp; Last week, the Olathe Fire Department welcomed home a portion of Kansas Task Force 1 from their hurricane response duty.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/10/1728954907312.png" alt="Photos Office of Kansaas Fire Marshal" />
 <figcaption>Photos Office of Kansaas Fire Marshal</figcaption>
 </figure>JOHNSON COUNTY —Members of Kansas Task Force 2 are on their way home from hurricane response duty.While in Florida, the task force teams&nbsp; performed search and rescue efforts with one squad utilizing a boat and another squad using ATV’s, according to a social media report from the Kansas Fire Marshal's office.Historic flooding remains a concern in the area where Task Force 2 was assigned for their search and rescue efforts. Being unfamiliar with the area, flood concerns are taken seriously so search and rescue operations are not jeopardized.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/10/1728954961719.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>The Task Force was able to provide some true Kansas hospitality as they helped cook camp breakfast for members of various task forces. This type of teamwork is a great way to build rapport not only for KS-TF2, but also with other task force teams in the same area.In the field during disaster response, work areas are not the normal office setting many back home enjoy while in the office. For Randy Hill, former Kansas State Fire Marshal Search and Rescue (SAR) Coordinator and current contractor with the Kansas State Fire Marshal, that means setting up an office in the back of one of the Kansas State Fire Marshal trailers. Task Force members adapt and work with what they have so assignments can be completed in safe and timely manners. Kansas Task Force 2 members also assisted Florida-Task Force 7 with getting their new boat built and ready for service so they can continue their search and rescue efforts. "Kansas Task Force 2 members have stepped up to the call and delivered professional, meaningful, and much needed assistance to Florida. One of the reasons that is possible is training they receive and their compassion about Search and Rescue response."&nbsp;&nbsp;On Sunday, Kansas Task Force 2 was notified&nbsp; that they were going to be demobilized and released from their deployment. They began the two-day drive home back to Kansas on Monday.&nbsp; Last week, the Olathe Fire Department welcomed home a portion of Kansas Task Force 1 from their hurricane response duty.